But the path to future growth is less clear. While the financial firm can find other ways to cut costs, its core operations face significant challenges, from both internal and external forces. Reflecting those issues, revenue was flat last year, excluding charges related to its debt.

'They are doing everything they can to boost returns', said Glenn Schorr, an analyst at Nomura. 'But given the environment and the state of their franchise, they can only do so much'.